FINAL | North Division Final – Game 2 | Monday, May 23, 2022

Laval leads series 2-0

Rocket Lineup

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Jesse Ylonen

Brandon Gignac – Cedric Paquette – Alex Belzile

Gabriel Bourque – Peter Abbandonato – Danick Martel

Lucas Condotta – Nate Schnarr – Joel Teasdale

Xavier Ouellet – Louie Belpedio

Corey Schueneman – Tobie Paquette-Bisson

Sami Niku – Tory Dello

Cayden Primeau – Kevin Poulin

Olivier Galipeau, Terrance Amorosa, Nicolas Mattinen, Owen Savory, Cameron Hillis, Gabriel Mollott-Hill, Kevin Roy, Alexandre Fortin, Justin Ducharme, Max Kaufman, Riley Kidney, Gianni Fairbrother

Lukas Vejdemo (lower body), Mattias Norlinder (upper body)

Game Report

Game Report written by Amy Johnson

The Rocket entered tonight’s game fresh off of a 6-1 victory over the Rochester Americans the previous night, thanks in part to Danick Martel’s four-goal game.

In the second half of the back-to-back set which kicks off the North Division Final, Jean-Francois Houle returned to a traditional formation of 12 forwards and six defensemen. Part of that decision was likely due to blueliner Mattias Norlinder being injured in the final minutes of game one, leaving him out of the lineup on this night. Lucas Condotta drew in as the 12th forward on this night.

First Period

It only took about five minutes for the scoring to open in this game, on the fourth shot of the game. Brandon Gignac cleaned up a big rebound in the slot to give the Rocket an early 1-0 lead.

Laval controlled the play for the bulk of the opening frame, firing pucks on Dell from all angles and trying to take advantage of the big rebounds the Rochester goaltender was giving up. Primeau, on the other hand, was not tested much and only faced seven shots in the period.

Second Period

Roughly the same amount of time had passed in the second period when Laval struck again. Despite Rochester coming out with a bit more pressure, Louie Belpedio teed up a big snap shot from the point to double the Rocket tally.

After that, the Amerks did flip the script a bit and began to take back control of the game in bits and pieces. They outshot the Rocket 14-7 in the period, but Primeau had some key saves to keep Rochester out of his net. However, the Amerks weren’t getting a lot of second chances or net-front presence to cause the Laval defense much trouble.

Third Period

Things started getting testy in the final 20 minutes, as Rochester’s frustration started to show in a very visible manner. On multiple occasions, the Rocket found themselves in the fray with Amerks players and it was difficult to stay out of the penalty box.

Rochester continued to struggle to get any decent chances on net, and the officials were letting a lot of things slide which could have been penalties against Laval.

Lucas Condotta made it a night to remember when he scored the third goal of the game for the Rocket. The puck shot out to him all alone in front of the net and he made no mistake to put it past Dell.

Seth Appert pulled his goaltender with about four minutes left in the game, and it paid off. Arttu Ruotsalainen snapped the puck past Primeau blocker side to get the Amerks on the board.

One goal wouldn’t be enough to mount a comeback, however, and the Rocket succeeded in winning their opening two-game set on home ice.

What’s Next?

Laval now travels to Rochester for game three, where the Amerks face elimination if they can’t find a way to beat the Rocket. If that happens, Laval will advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Be sure to scroll down to hear post-game interviews with Belpedio, Tobie Paquette-Bisson, Gignac, and Houle by the AHL Report team and other members of the media.

Plus / Minus

▲ Brandon Gignac, Cayden Primeau, Alex Belzile

▼ Danick Martel, Joel Teasdale